Who is the Spirit hearing from in John 16:13?

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Verses 12-15 make it pretty clear that the Spirit is functioning under the authority and direction of the Father and the Son. What the Spirit is speaking is coming from the Son and the Father. We can see this as Jesus is promising the Spirit will be his replacement, if you will, as God's primary representative on Earth. The Spirit is fully God. The Spirit is also subordinate to the Father and Son, not because of any distinction in power or value, but a clear distinction in roles.

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The Holy Spirit is God, but it is also a bit different from God, in the fact that it dwells in us and also in the fact that it is not as high as God, as far as I know. If you put the Father, Son, and Spirit in a hierarchy, the Father would be at the top while the Spirit and Jesus would be underneath, at least that is my understanding. So, if you think about things that way, the logical thing to think would be that the spirit is listening to the Father. But that might not be true. The Spirit could be listening to the Father and Jesus. I guess both are true at the same time. It could be either one.

I hope I answered your question. :)

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John 16:12-15 (ESV2011)

12 β€œI still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

According to v.12, Jesus has more to tell his followers. The Spirit of truth is clearly the Holy Spirit, fully equal in power and majesty to God the father or God the son. Yet the Holy Spirit seems to be a sort of "silent partner", not in the sense that He does not speak, but He "will not speak of Himself". The Holy Spirit will speak the words of Jesus and of Jesus. It is suggested that the Holy Spirit's words will also be from the Father, just as Jesus stated that His words are "from the Father".

Bob Uttley, a Baptist, comments on John chapter 16 at: http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/new_testament_studies/VOL04/VOL04_16.html

"the Spirit of truth" Truth (alΔ“theia) is used in its OT connotation of trustworthiness and only secondarily in a sense of truthfulness. Jesus said that He was the truth in John 14:6. This title for the Holy Spirit emphasizes His role as the revealer of Jesus.

"He will guide you into all the truth"

"for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come" ... The Spirit will receive truth from the Father, as Jesus did, and pass it on to believers, as Jesus did.

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